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Branding, or Re-branding? Which is it?

We’ve only been in business for ourselves for a couple of years now, and already we realize it’s almost time to rebrand! How can that be? We’re a marketing firm for heaven’s sake, shouldn’t we have planned better?

It would seem that we didn’t plan very well. But “the best laid plans of mice and men”. . .as they say. When we started out, we thought our customers were going to fall into this neat little corporate box, and thus the corporate look. But whoa! What we’ve found is that our clients really run the gamut. They certainly don’t belong in the same box. And we love it that way.

So when is it time to brand, or rebrand? Here’s our list:

Obviously, when you are starting a new company.

As with our experience – when you are fairly new and you’ve grown – normally 3-5 years into the business.

When your company or organization has changed. Your company expands, or it shrinks. Could be an acquisition, a new product, service or major growth.

When your mission/vision changes. You have both not-for-profit and for-profit divisions.

When you are no longer recognized for the benefit you provided. Maybe you started out providing the fastest turnaround time, and now your competitors have adopted similar technology. Your value to your customers may have changed.

What comes next? We’ve just been talking with an association that believes they need to rebrand. Our agency has no connection to this organization. We’re not members. They are not our client. So why ask us? Because it’s a really smart move. Having an outside consultant look at your company or organization from the outside in is important. There are no preconceived notions about who you are and what you should be doing.

Have a conversation with this consultant. Be honest and give them your strengths and weaknesses. Let them poll your employees and customers. Let them ask questions. And keep your options open.

The consultant will report their findings to you. Look at them at face value. Be prepared for something entirely different. Try out some concepts. Don’t make rash decisions, but rather sit on the data for a while. See if it grows on you.

Remember that rebranding is taking a look at your firm or organization and revising the basic concepts of why you are in business. It can be difficult to accept a change. But as we know, change is almost always good. Just make sure the change is based on real data.

If you think it may be time for you to rebrand, give Make It Count Marketing a call at 301-467-2501. Let’s talk about it.